Blocked punt key as Joey DeMarco, Oswego win defensive battle with Yorkville

OSWEGO – Joey DeMarco was so close to blocking a punt on Friday night that the Oswego senior could almost taste the pigskin.

DeMarco didn’t get a block, but he recovered one and turned it into a 36-yard touchdown, a pivotal play in a defensive battle as the Panthers defeated Yorkville, 17-6, in the Southwest Prairie Conference West.

“I felt like I could block it and the snap was up and I was coming off the edge, but it was off to the right a little bit,” he said. “So I was like ‘I can’t block it,’ but Evan Brown pushed a (Yorkville player toward the punter) and the ball came right by me and I wasn’t going to just fall on it since it was open so I picked it up and scored.”

Oswego (4-1, 3-1) needed a big play in this battle and special teams were an area of concern that coach Brian Cooney recognized heading into the action.

“I talked about how the hidden yards in special teams are so important and we weren’t getting anything,” he said. “And tonight you could see the difference in some of the plays that special teams made.”

Matt Egly and Anthony Cikauskas joined Brown in supplying the pressure that resulted in the blocked punt that extended Oswego’s lead to 14-0 with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter.

“They were having big splits and stuff and we just knew if we brought the pressure every single time that eventually it was going to get blocked,” Cikauskas said. “We put the pressure on them and it happened. It was just how we wanted it to.”

Yorkville (3-2, 2-2) struggled again in moving the ball and its offense was held to a single touchdown for the third straight game. Despite that, the Foxes were in the game until the very end, but victimized by the blocked punt as well as a turnover in the first half that put them behind 7-0 at the half.

“Defensively I was really proud with how our kids competed,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “It’s a very physical team and our kids didn’t back down from them, and they have a lot of good players on their team and a lot of good coaches. I thought defensively we went blow for blow with them, no doubt about it, but anytime you make any mistakes against a really good team like this it’s not going to be good.”

After Austin King’s 22-yard field goal extended Oswego’s lead to 17-0 with only 4:10 remaining, the Foxes looked to be done trailing by three scores. But they continued to fight, pulling to within 17-6 after a 36-yard catch and run from Luke Davies to Isaiah Griffin.

The Foxes were unable to recover their onside kick after that touchdown, but they got the ball back and drove into the red zone before time expired.

“I was proud of our kids in fighting back,” McGuire said. “I think we had a legitimate chance at the end there if a couple things go differently. There was a fumble we didn’t recover and an onside kick, so I think it could’ve been a little different than that.”

Jacob Sergen’s 1-yard run with 40.7 seconds remaining in the first half broke the scoreless tie and set the Panthers on their way to easing the disappointment of last week’s lost to Oswego East.

“That was a very long six days and 20 hours or whatever it was from when (the Oswego East) game ended to when we were able to meet with our guys and get going,” Cooney said. “All of us came back with a revised sense of urgency and focus.”